


An Island in the Mediterranean

by natigail



Series: Phan Reality One Shots [7]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Beach Holidays, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Holidays, Islands, M/M, Reality, Swimming Pools, Throughout are Instagrams by Dan and Phil, september 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-10 04:18:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13494830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natigail/pseuds/natigail
Summary: A holiday just for them and their friends. A little break filled with calmness by the seaside. Five precious moments shared on Instagram.September 2017





	An Island in the Mediterranean

Spontaneous holiday time with friends, which turned out to be exactly what they needed. A horribly uncomfortable and crammed plane ride was the price they paid. Phil leaning over into Dan’s space to avoid the man on his other side, who had no sense of personal space, and Dan letting Phil do it with a slight tilt of his lips into a barely noticeable smile. How they inwardly cursed their heights and got leg cramps but hey, at least they were in it together. Catching a cap in the middle of the night and the driver being an old and reckless man. Cautious eye glances in the back of the car and utter relief when they finally arrived.  

_~ privacy ~ tranquillity ~ friendship ~ nature ~ happiness ~ water ~_

They had a pool with clear blue water. It was warm to the touch thanks to the warm sunrays falling down on it. Blow up pool accessory was a necessity at every beach holiday. It was a bright pink donut, based on the one from the Simpson with a bite taken out of it and everything.

They started by playing around in the pool, letting themselves be childish and silly. You should never have to act like a responsible adult all of the time. It was important to embrace your inner child now and again and just have a water fight. They didn’t get to see their friends enough and this was just what Dan and Phil had needed to relax.

Eventually the water fight finished, with no clear winner but none of them really minded getting wet in this kind of lovely heat. Books were brought out next to the sun loungers but Dan felt his attention drift back to the floating donut.

It was almost obnoxious in its colour, way too vibrant for someone like him and yet he quite liked it. He liked bright and shining things after all, the kind of things that made you smile just by looking at them, even if you felt blinded by their beautiful and bright appearance. So he hopped up on the donut and let himself float around for a while.

There was something therapeutic about floating, feeling something holding your weight up when so often the problems in the world weighted heavy on your shoulders. Phil considered splashing Dan but decided against it. Dan looked very peaceful floating around in their private pool.

Dan was indeed very at peace in the moment. The water felt pleasant where his body still touched it despite the donut floatie. The sun felt warm, which made him drowsy and the rhythmic rocking of the waves lulled him to sleep.

Phil took a photo of him while he was out. His long legs positioned where the bite of the donut was, hobbit hair wet and curling like nobody’s business, and arms crossed gently as he held onto himself. 

 

It was eventually Phil who swam out and woke Dan. He considered tipping him over but knowing Dan, that might just have caused him to inhale a bunch of water and drown, so Phil settled for splashing some water on his face.

It’s a gentler awakening, though Dan was shocked he even managed to fall asleep. If he’d been in the sea, he’d be one of those idiots that drifted off and ended up on a deserted island or just stuck in the middle of the ocean and then got eaten by a shark. He told Phil as much. Phil just laughed it off and said that he’d never allow that to happen.

Dan moaned about the possibility of him getting sunstroke again when they just let him sleep on water during high noon. No one paid much attention to his protests and then Phil did in fact tip him over in the donut.

He flailed about and tried to catch himself but he had no chance. Phil was all wide smiles and eyes bright with mischief when Dan emerged from his unwanted underwater experience. There’s more teasing and another water fight. 

_~ good times ~ blue sea ~ loud laughs ~ soft sand ~ freckled skin ~ gentle winds ~_

The vegetation on the island seemed brighter than anything they see in London. There was all kind of plants for Phil to go nuts about. If Dan had let him, he’d probably try to buy some and smuggle them aboard the plane. Dan wasn’t sure you were allowed to bring plants through security and he wasn’t going to research it. There was no need to encourage Phil.

Phil was in heaven with all of these plants. He admired the island’s version of stone hedges and the bright sea in the cove and the fish that lived there. It felt like a little wonderland for just them to explore.

He missed having easy access to nature. Sure, there were parks in London but it wasn’t really the same. You could always hear the buzz of the city but here there was nothing but sounds of nature. Phil loved London sure but this trip only made it more evident that the forever home would have to have a garden.

It would be a garden for him to fill with all sorts of plants and flowers and most importantly, for a dog to play in. It wouldn’t be just yet but at some point, Phil knew that it would happen and just the thought made him giddy.

There was one particular bush that caught Phil’s attention whenever they walked past it and one time he just gripped onto Dan’s arm and halted him in his determined steps. Phil announced that they were having a photo-shoot and Dan didn’t put up much of a fight.

 

They were each other’s private photographers after all.

What Dan did was chuckle a bit in Phil’s choice of outfit. Sure, it was a T-shirt and shorts but both were black and if not for the adorable dinosaur, it was exactly something that fit with Dan’s all-black aesthetic.

Now, there was a reason they preferred to do their calendar photos at home against a white wall instead of in a studio with a professional photographer. They knew each other’s angles the best and neither of them got uncomfortable posing as ridiculously as they wanted. They knew all each other’s quirks and habits and after nearly eight years of knowing each other there wasn’t much they didn’t know.

Phil was moving from more serious poses to silly ones. He even tried to imitate Dan’s usual posed smile with the peace sign thrown up. Dan almost smacked him with his own phone for that but Phil managed to dodge in time.

Suggesting poses came naturally to Dan, as he knew what worked on camera and what looked more ridiculous. Frankly, a 30 year old man crouched in front of a bush should probably _always_ be ridiculous but it wasn’t with Phil. He was just a nerd that loved plants and while Dan tried to make sure their home didn’t turn into a literal green house, he never wanted to discourage anything that made someone happy, least of all Phil.

_~ lots of fish ~ much needed relaxation ~ soft golden sunsets ~ breathing in deeply ~ vibrant green plants ~ hanging with friends._

It was incredible that the water was so clear and blue. It seemed to be straight out of a fairy-tale land, especially when they thought of the mucky water surrounding London.

Phil was discovering that he had an until-now unexplored fascination with fish. They went snorkelling and he kept resurfacing to speak about the fish he spotted. Perhaps, he almost forgot to come up for air when he became engrossed with the underwater world. However, like clockwork he would hear Dan shout his name above water. Reminding him to breach the surface to breathe in a gentle and fond tone that matched the one Phil had used on Dan a lot when he was struggling with dropping out of university.

It was easy to have your breath taken away when everything looked so beautiful.

It wasn’t just the water, or the fish, or the plant life. It was the influence it had on the people too, all scrunched up and sun kissed cheeks. Lazing around without a care in the world, at least for a moment.

Phil did a lot of dives into the water and he insisted that Dan film him. As Dan got ready with the camera, he got a flashback to seven years prior; a sponsored trip to Jamaica when they had just been starting out and nothing was set in stone yet. Phil daring to jump off a cliff to the alcove below, excited as ever.

Less than a graceful technique, with arms flailing about, he made the jump, and came back with a small shout of victory. He was much like the calming waters they had spent the past days in, not roaring for attention but being noteworthy regardless.

 

Beauty didn’t shout from the mountaintops, but it did show in happy smiles.

The breeze was gentle, coming in over the cove that seemed to be filled with colourful fish at all times. The water welcoming, even if Dan dipped his toes in beforehand just to check out of habit, always cautious towards new things.

Phil would roll his eyes and yank Dan forward without his permission. There would be a glare, which would last no more than a second before it morphed into a smile and a fond headshake.

Taking a leap of faith was something Phil practiced in all areas of his life. Starting YouTube had been a huge one. Chatting to a guy who kept commenting on his videos and tweets were another. Booking last minute holidays, like to Japan or here, was more leaps of faith.

Faith that everything would be okay and you’d fly for a moment and the air would swoosh around you and it might be frightening but you would land somewhere soft. On the rare occasion you didn’t, you’d eventually learn how to duck and roll to minimise damage.

But fear should never stop you from taking the leap. 

_~ sharing meals and conversations ~ walks on the beach ~ soft hands intertwined discreetly ~ feet cautiously dipped in ~ love in the air ~ diving into the sea ~_

Nothing quite beat a good, tranquil view. Dinners shared next to the water became commonplace and Dan and Phil knew they would miss it after they went home. The food was always delicious and the simple pleasure of sharing a meal meant a lot.

They ate together at home often too, most likely while watching an anime or a TV series. They would start watching something together and then it would be forbidding for them to watch it individually. It was a very simple act, yet it carried a deeper meaning too. They waited for each other and wanted to experience things together because it was better with the other person at their side.

Sometimes, it was an anime episode or agreeing to host a Christmas Special on BBC Radio 1 only if you could bring someone else along too. It was mostly small things but the big and significant ones hid in there too.

Their hair styling had been non-existent while they were by the water. It had been nearly a year since Dan had started embracing his self-proclaimed hobbit hair but it got a little more curly and wild out here. With a combination of being in and out of water, it curled to its full potential.

At this point in his life, Dan had given up trying to straighten it. There was no point in trying to conform it into something it wasn’t anyway.  

But Dan’s hair wasn’t the only one that got affected by the water, temperature and breeze. Phil was holding onto his old “emo” hair but the sea breeze desperately wanted to show him how a quiff would look. It kept catching hold of his fringe and lifting it from his forehead.

 

Combined with a slouchy T-shirt and two-day stubble, Phil looked the most casual he let himself be outside of their home.

Neither Dan nor Phil thought they looked their best but they did not care. However, if they had asked the other what they thought of the casual holiday look, they would have been surprised in the replies. Your own perception isn’t always what someone else sees.

Where you might think your hair a mess and your eyes squinty and tired, someone else might see you as carefree and happy and gorgeous nonetheless.

_~ feeling warmth of the sun ~ skin turned dry and salty ~ looking out over the sea ~ moments shared in peaceful heartbeats ~ hair ruffled by the wind ~ eyes bright and in love ~_

The days had merged together and it was coming to the end of their trip. Tans had taken residence on their skin, sand had gotten absolutely everywhere, so much delicious food had been consumed and some much-needed time away from the screens had been achieved.

It was a simpler existence to live out here and it was a wonderful reprieve. Dan and Phil spent so much time holed up in their shared flat, surrounded by technology and the only nature was in the form of Phil’s growing houseplant collection. Dan had refused to water them, partly to make Phil take responsibility and partly because he knew that he wouldn’t be able to remember to water them and he didn’t want to accidentally kill Phil’s plants, even if Phil usually did it himself.

It felt like the sunsets out here were unique. It might be the way the sun reflected over the water or how the hot air left everything with a warmly toned filter. It was the final evening in this little slice of paradise and Dan wanted to take advantage of it.

Normally, their everyday life didn’t seem interesting enough to fill up an Instagram feed but holidays were different. Even if this was a private holiday, it felt natural to share little snippets of their life and frankly, it served to document their lives.

It was a strange existence to know they had so much footage and photos of them over the years. So many memories had been captured on screen, forever immortalised, even some of the moments that they hadn’t intended to become public.

Dan had just wanted take a selfie in the soft sunlight and he was prepared for a long session of snapping almost identical shots. Phil would roll his eyes whenever Dan did that and then afterwards spent ages scrolling through the camera roll to pick the “best one”.  

However, Dan managed just one test shot before a whole punch of people started approaching and he panicked and grabbed Phil’s by the sleeve and gave up on his photo-shoot idea. Phil pulled him to a stop and asked if he should take the photo for him, because he knew Dan was less awkward when it was the two of them.

 

  


The warm sunset glows coloured the world around them as they stood in their last clean clothes, which included the shirt on Dan that Phil had so fondly described as a handkerchief. Their hearts were full and there was an air of content between them. Dan knew that a photograph would never be able to capture everything he felt in that moment, so he declined Phil’s offer and went back to pulling him along.

Documenting your life was a very nice thing but there was something to be said for just putting down your devices and take someone’s hand instead. Our eyes are the best means to take in the world around us, even if they can’t freeze time like a camera.

The sunset lighting looked far more gorgeous reflected in the eye of the person you loved.

_~ good long books finally finished ~ the feel of water under fingertips ~ fish fascinations somewhat finally sated ~ one last look at the exquisiteness ~ skin pleasantly warm to the touch ~ a holiday coming to an end ~_

There’s something to be said for finding your home in a person instead of a physical place. When your home becomes a person; eyes to gaze into, arms to hold and lips to kiss, then you can be content wherever. The island in the Mediterranean had become a temporary home filled with chilled time with friends for Dan and Phil. In the beginning, when they first met, spending holidays apart hadn’t been weird. But by now, neither of them could think of booking a holiday without the other person. There was no one they would rather share these special moments with.

**Author's Note:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://secretlywritingstories.tumblr.com/post/170272405305/an-island-in-the-mediterranean-phan-one-shot)
> 
> So I wrote the majority of this story in September but I never quite finished it and consequently forgot all about it. But I just rediscovered it this weekend and thought why the heck don’t I finish it? So here you go! I wanted to write a bit differently, so this fic has no dialogue and focuses on capturing the atmosphere instead, as I wanted to practice describing the surroundings. Feedback is highly appreciated and I hope you enjoyed reading this.
> 
> Follow me on tumblr [@natigail](http://natigail.tumblr.com) and [@secretlywritingstories](http://secretlywritingstories.tumblr.com) if you want to.


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